


Arigatou!

by neko_kirin3104



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff and Angst, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-07
Updated: 2013-06-07
Packaged: 2017-12-14 06:26:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/833771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neko_kirin3104/pseuds/neko_kirin3104
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He bought the <i>thing</i> for seemingly selfish reasons. He intended to use it for a genuinely romantic cause...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arigatou!

  
  


Kazunari Ninomiya never once denied being a miser. In fact, if he could, he would literally wear the title like a badge of honor on his sleeve. But it wasn’t like he would never spend anything at all to treat a friend. Unlike _someone_ he knew.

“Oh-chan, I’m thirsty, can you buy me a drink?” he asked in his most charming voice. They had just finished filming the final additional scenes for their latest PV and were all getting ready to scoot to their individual appointments. Or at least, three of them were. As far as he knew he and Leader were free for the rest of the day. And it was only three in the afternoon.

“There’s water in the dispenser, Nino,” the older guy replied sleepily, putting on his tattered cap and facial mask—the new one his manager had just bought and which now had Nino’s representation of a one-toothed grin drawn on it in red ink. The older man’s eyes barely registered any hint of surprise when he saw his reflection in the mirror, which only served to rouse Nino’s annoyance.

“Well, can you at least get me a cup?” he grumbled, trying not to grunt in frustration as he stuffed his DS into his belt bag without breaking the withering glare he had fixed on the man.

The ever-so docile Leader, without so much as a sigh, went over to the dispenser, pulled a cup from the stack in the table and filled it exactly as he always preferred—one-third cold water mixed with a little hot water. The guy didn’t even have to ask, and the warmth that began to fill Nino’s heart at the realization that Ohno did know him well threatened to make him smile.

But he didn’t. Instead, he mumbled a halfhearted “Thanks,” as he took the cup and turned to leave the room. He was about to bid farewell to the rest of the group when his hand suddenly froze on the knob, the casually spoken, “Ja ne,” that did not come from him echoing in his ear like an ill-timed insult. He looked over his shoulder to see Ohno standing behind him, quietly waiting for him to open the door.

He frowned suspiciously and asked, “Where are you going?”

“Out,” came the simple reply, muffled by his one-toothed-grin mask. It took everything Nino had not to smack the guy and yank the stupid-looking cloth from off his face. Was the old man seriously going out in the streets of Tokyo looking like this?

But he kept himself from doing what he would’ve normally done, going against his natural instincts for the second time that day all because of _this_ man. So instead of retaliating with a snarky comment, or relentlessly insisting on a more definite answer, he just went and opened the door for the older guy, even holding out his hand with a slight bow and saying, “Douzo.”

His gaze followed the older guy as he stepped out and turned down the corridor, his sneakers squeaking on the floor with each step. Nino then turned just long enough to salute to the other members—intentionally ignoring the meaningful smiles he saw in those faces—before stepping out and letting the spring-hinged door close on its own. A few steps away to his right, Ohno was waiting for him. He sighed and nonchalantly walked to the other guy. Even though his heart was slowly swelling with delight, he chose to keep his face straight as he gulped down the water in his cup.

“Nino, daijoubu?” Ohno asked, falling into step beside him.

“Hn,” he grunted, casually twirling the now empty cup in his hand. No, he was not all right. But there was no way he could ever tell this guy _that_. “Why do you ask?”

“You just seem... a little out of it lately,” the other guy said almost cautiously, it almost made him laugh. Ironic how someone who spent most of his time in his own little headspace could actually be perceptive enough to notice Nino’s own little spaced-out trips _lately_.

So this guy was watching him after all.

But instead of giving into his sentiments and blurting out the truth, he instead asked the one _safe_ question that had been niggling at his mind, “Are you really gonna wear _that_ outside?”

The older guy automatically looked down at his usual jeans and shirt attire, mumbling, “What’s wrong with it?”

Nino sighed impatiently and reached out to pull the stupid mask from off the equally stupid-looking face. But Ohno’s reflexes proved to be quicker than his as one long-fingered hand suddenly shot up to tap his hand away.

“Hey!” Ohno put one protective hand over the mask, holding the other up in front of him.

Nino just rolled his eyes and backed away, mumbling to himself, “Seriously.”

“ _I like it._ ”

Nino didn’t know why, but those three simple words, spoken so gently yet so full of conviction, sounded like a declaration of sorts. An allusion to the confession he had long been hoping for but doubted he would ever have. Try as he might, he could no longer keep control of his erratic heartbeat. He turned his face a little to the side to hide the warm tinge gradually building on his cheeks.

It was just as well that by that time, they had already reached the car park and were just a few steps away from his car. And even though he already knew what the older guy was gonna say—and didn’t really want to be confined in such a cramped up space with said guy until he learned to ignore the tension he was suddenly feeling around him—Nino felt he just had to ask, “Need a ride?” to keep up with the routine.

Ohno shook his head and gave his usual spiel about trains and relaxation.

“Whatever,” he mumbled before giving the guy a small wave and heading towards his car.

“Drive safe,” he vaguely heard Leader call out, to which he replied a halfhearted, “Hai,” before closing the door.

Once inside the safe confines of his car, Nino took a huge—and utterly useless—calming breath, before crossing his arms over the steering wheel and burying his face into them. He did not know what to make of the situation anymore. He wasn’t too dumb not to realize he was jealous—of whom or what he had yet to figure out. But he was _rational_ enough not to acknowledge such a weird emotion as fact.

Until now.

“You idiot,” he hissed under his breath as Ohno’s many faces began flashing in his mind. Laughing, smiling, pouting, dazed, sleepy... just about every single expression his watchful eyes had been able to observe and burn into his memory through the years. Those faces he had become so familiar with.

The subtle and not so subtle expressions he had grown to love about the older guy... among other things.

He did not know when it all began. Or how and why. One day he just woke up and realized he could no longer last a single day without seeing Ohno. Just seeing him. And hearing his voice. His very genuine laughter. His _heartfelt_ whines of, “I’m tired!”

Just the sight of him sleeping on the backstage couch—too comfortable and trusting (and stupid!) for his own good—had lately been enough to send Nino’s heart fluttering to the clouds.

But the irony of it was that, he could not get himself to grope and pinch him as much as he did before. For it had become impossible not to feel something stirring in his gut the moment he rubbed skins with the older guy. He could only stare, and avert his eyes, then stare again, as surreptitiously as he knew how.

The DS that used to be stuck to his hands with invisible glue was getting more and more discarded these days. Whenever he did feel like using it, he found he could not concentrate enough to finish a single-freaking level, and so ended up passing it off to Aiba, or J, or whoever was sitting beside him at the moment.

And then, he’d go back to secretly staring at Ohno again. Observing his every move. Every single twitching of his face as he doodled away on his sketchpad. The rhythmic rising and falling of his chest as he slumbered off in whatever position he had previously been in.

Then, occasionally turning his gaze away to some uninteresting spot on the wall whenever he felt somebody else’s gaze on him.

It was J who first noticed it, and jokingly told him, “Just go ahead and grab him already. I won’t tell the others.” This, while easing his way through the game level Nino could not complete.

He just huffed and walked out of the room with every intention of sorting through his cluttered emotions, only to end up more confused.

And it did not help that ever since that day, the younger guy had constantly been on his case. Always teasing him about making a move already before it was too late. “Leader’s becoming more and more popular, you know.”

To which he would just grunt and hiss, “Lay off it already!” before staging his customary walking-out stint—wherein he would fail time and time again in his attempt to trump the weird attraction that was gradually growing in him for the older guy.

Lately, even Aiba and Sho had been giving him meaningful looks as well. He couldn’t really blame them since it wasn’t like he was denying anything anyway. Just getting his eyeful and then walking out when put on the spot about it—

Even the usually spaced-out Ohno had noticed that something wasn’t quite right with him. Except that the natural airhead remained clueless that it was he who was causing Nino this much stress.

He did want to talk about it with the other guy. No matter how embarrassing, he felt they were the only ones who could sort this out between themselves. Or at least, he hoped Ohno would stay awake long enough to hear him out.

But when he finally got the courage to ask Ohno to stay and talk, the older guy suddenly started this weird habit of leaving right away after work, as though he could not wait to be someplace else. For the last several months, the nap he would usually take on the couch for a couple of hours after filming—during which Nino could get his dose of him for the day—quickly became a vague memory as he breezed his way from work to wherever it was he went to afterwards.

For a time, Nino actually thought the guy was avoiding him. That maybe he _did_ know what was happening to Nino and wanted no part in it. Even the older guy’s usual refusal to go out and eat with him suddenly felt like a direct rejection of his feelings.

But then, Ohno did not really change at all in his dealings with him. He would still readily flop down beside him on the couch and ask him about his latest games. He still paid close attention to Nino’s newest card tricks, and share lunchboxes as before. One time, the older guy had even casually slipped a hand through his arm and leaned on him while whining, “I’m so sleepy, Nino!”

Nothing’s really changed between them. Except that Leader seemed to be busy with something else aside from work these days. And Nino just wasn’t used to seeing the guy in such a hurry to get somewhere he did not know, nor had the courage to ask about.

Then J’s playful warning just had to echo through his mind—about their Leader getting more popular. And his _creative_ mind just had to run wild because of it, completely convincing him that the older guy was indeed seeing someone.

Some weeks back, when the other members were teasing him about it, Ohno had vehemently denied dating anyone. And his heart was filled with silent delight even as he nonchalantly kept pressing the buttons on his DS. Despite all of his acting awards, Satoshi Ohno was never a good liar. But he definitely was hiding something.

When the others tired of trying to fish for a confession and left, Ohno had sat down beside him and lain his head on his shoulder with a huge sigh. And for the first (and last) time in weeks, Nino found an excuse to ask him what he had been up to lately.

“You can tell me,” he assured, still trying to focus on the game that had already gone down the drain the moment Ohno’s hair brushed his cheek.

“It’s a secret,” the older guy replied softly, sleepily. “But it’s not dating.”

“Isn’t it?” his heart just had to make sure.

At this point, Ohno raised his head, looked him straight in the eye, and with conviction and a small, assuring smile declared, “Nino, I’m not dating anyone,” like he knew Nino needed that to keep his peace of mind.

But he was still doing something he couldn’t tell Nino. Now, how was that any better?

He sighed and raised his head from the steering wheel, focusing his eyes on the cup he still held in one hand. It was the tenth one he’d kept. It had been ten weeks since Ohno assured him he wasn’t seeing anyone. Ten weeks since he began his _merciless_ crusade to annoy the older guy by drawing weird things on his mask, constantly asking him to treat him to something, and insisting that he get him a cup of water before leaving for his usual rendezvous.

But everything he did, Satoshi Ohno took in stride. And he was always the one who ended up annoyed at the guy’s unbelievable patience.

He knew it was a rather childish path to take. But between Ohno’s _inhumanely_ packed schedule, plus this thing he’s been doing that he could not tell anyone, these little _childish_ tricks were Nino’s only assurance that the older guy was constantly reminded of his presence.

He reached out and pulled open the glove compartment to grab his marker. Then, he leaned into the driver’s seat and began writing on the cup.

 _“12-23-12. “_ Daijoubu _?” you asked. Can you not see the answer in my eyes...?”_

He turned the cup around and added at a whim, _“Baka, Oh-chan!!!”_

~*****~*****~

Christmas day. Nino’s phone had been ringing constantly for the last fifteen minutes. He knew who it was, having checked the screen the first time it rang. But he didn’t really feel like talking to anyone right now, least of all this guy.

“Kazunari! For the love of God!” he heard his mom’s shrill cry seconds before her “ _Moshi moshi_ ,” sent him bolting out of bed.

“What the hell, Mom!” he hissed. He stood up and tried to grab the phone from his meddling mother.

“ _Hai_ , Satoshi-kun. I’ll tell him,” she said calmly after slapping his hand off. “And merry christmas to you, too.”

He sighed defeatedly as his mom slapped the mobile phone to his hand, “Thanks a lot,” he grumbled sarcastically, throwing the device to his bed.

“ _Maa_ , Kazunari! Don’t be such a humbug!” She reached out and pinched his cheeks until his lips were spread out in a clownish smile. He just stared blankly at her teasing face, too drained to even care. “Satoshi-kun is waiting for you at the Marina. Says it’s important that you come.”

Now that sure was enough to pique his interest. Openly frowning, he gently pulled at his mom’s wrists and she obligingly let go of his face.

What was that guy doing at the marina? He knew very well Nino could not stand the sight of the sea. And it’s important that he came? What did this guy think he was, his _girlfriend_?!

“Have you two been fighting?” His mom raised a suspicious brow at him.

He just deepened his frown and threw himself face first into his bed. He felt the cushion shift as his mom sat beside him.

“Mom, please,” he grunted into his blanket. “I just want to sleep.”

He had come home the day before to spend Christmas with his family, intentionally missing Aiba’s birthday celebration so as not to have to see Ohno. Thinking that if he didn’t, just for _that_ one day, he could celebrate the holidays like normal.

But there really wasn’t any hope of recovering from the Ohno bug, was there? All he did was eat a little and sulk a lot. He even screamed at his nephews for being too noisy, and went on to be such a Scrooge the whole night that his mother finally had to banish him to his room.

Here, he had spent hours tossing and turning in his bed, alternately thinking of kissing and killing Satoshi Ohno. It was already six in the morning when he finally lost himself to slumber.

“It’s five in the afternoon, honey,” his mom was saying gently, matter-of-factly. She grabbed hold of his arm and forcibly yanked him out of bed. “Come on!” He just slipped limply onto the floor, closing his eyes and letting loose a barrage of fake snores.

He heard his mother sigh and could imagine her standing over him with her arms crossed on her chest. “Seriously! I can’t believe you’re nearly 30!”

“Go away,” he mumbled, curling up like a kitten. Perhaps if he tried his best to look cute and helpless, his mom would leave him alone.

“Get dressed and go meet Satoshi-kun,” his mom insisted, pulling him up once again. “I heard he bought you an extravagant gift.”

A poorly restrained chuckle escaped his throat even as his mom practically dragged him across the room. Satoshi Ohno, buying anyone anything extravagant? The world must be heading for its doom! .

“Move, you sloth,” his mom demanded as he proceeded once again to curl up in front of his closet. “Move or I’ll strip you and dress you myself!”

Nino didn’t feel threatened at all by that, at least not until he felt a pair of hands yanking at his pajamas. He scrambled up and away from his mom, squealing, “All right! All right!”

His mom gave him a triumphant smile before finally walking towards the door. The she-devil!

“How’d you know he bought me something?” he asked just before she could step out. Now that his mind had cleared enough to process the information, he got just a little bit curious.

“Well, I do talk to his mom, don’t I?” she said simply before closing the door. “Don’t make me come back for you, Kazunari!”

“Hai, hai!” he shouted back. He rubbed his palms impatiently to his face while groaning loudly.

_What are you up to, Oh-chan?!_

~*****~*****~

Nino drove his car into the Marina’s parking lot an hour later. It took him about ten more minutes to compose himself since he had worked himself up into such a frantic excitement on the way, thinking about Satoshi Ohno’s _supposed_ extravagant gift for him.

The old man couldn’t possibly be thinking of taking him on a fishing trip now, could he? Because that would just be... _annoying_. Not to mention, selfish. Because, really, that would just be a gift Ohno gave to himself.

And why would this guy be giving him a gift anyway? And why was his mom so excited about it like she _knew_ something was up?

After making sure his car was all locked up, he started walking to the harbor, pushing his numbing hands deep into his coat pockets and trying his very best not to shiver against the cold December breeze.

He saw the guy standing by the archway that bore the name ‘Yumenoshima Marina,’ a smile instantly spreading his lips as he waited for him. Nino intentionally slowed down his steps, suddenly feeling unsure about everything. What did Leader want to do with him at the Marina? And why the Marina, of all places?

And why _now_? What the hell was going on?!

“Nino,” Ohno smiled, relief evident in his voice and on his face.

“Leader,” he mumbled cautiously, keeping his face straight. Did this man think he was gonna ignore his invitation?

The older guy held out a hand to him and said, “Walk with me.”

For a few seconds he just stared, frowning, at that outstretched hand, thinking whether or not to take it. But for some reason, his better judgment got wrestled into an obscure corner of his mind and he found himself reaching out and clasping hands with Leader, who looked overly enthused by what he did that it almost made him smile.

"Where are we going?” he asked instead.

“I want to show you something,” Ohno replied, his voice almost squeaking with excitement.

They walked in silence for the next couple of minutes, Ohno’s smile growing with each step. Even Nino felt the excitement mounting that by the time they finally stopped in front of this _something_ , he could no longer keep his jaws from going slack.

“Whose is that?” he felt he needed to ask, though he already knew the answer.

“Mine...”

Nino turned to look at his companion as though he had grown ten eyes. What the fuck?! Satoshi Ohno had actually bought a boat! And not just any boat, but a _freaking_ yacht!

_“...and yours.”_

He frowned at those last words, processing them over and over in his head to make sure he heard them right.

“Eh?” he ended up saying dumbly afterwards.

“Come,” Ohno pulled him gently so he could take a closer look. And when he saw the words ‘Ohmiya SK’ sprawled on the side of the yacht, he bit his lip and clasped his Leader’s hand tighter.

“I... can’t ride that,” he said slowly, torn between happiness and regret. “You know how it is, Oh-chan. I’ll get sick.”

“We’ll just have to do something about that, won’t we?” Ohno replied confidently, tugging him towards the boarding platform. “ _Ikou._ ”

“Now?!” Nino exclaimed, whilst trying to put up a feeble fight.

“No time like the present,” Ohno said, stepping behind him and pushing him up the platform.

“B-But...”

He felt the older guy’s arms wrap around his waist and his warm breath on his ear as he whispered, “Trust me, _Kazunari_.”

The erratic beatings of his heart at hearing the older guy call him by his name sent his feet stepping up the rest of the platform. And once aboard the yacht something he had observed earlier on, but was too muddled up to wonder about suddenly struck him.

There were only the two of them on the boat.

“Who’s driving?” he asked, suspiciously frowning at the other man pulling the platform up on his own.

“I am.” Ohno’s proud grin sent an odd mixture of pride and fear cruising through his nerves.

“You’re kidding, right?” he asked, not at all worried he could hurt the man’s feelings.

Satoshi Ohno just shook his head while pulling something out from his coat pocket. “I was good enough to get this.”

Nino grabbed the blue card holder and looked at the boat license inside. Level 2. Satoshi Ohno actually managed to get himself a level 2 boating license!

“What the hell?! How did this happen?!” he exclaimed, eyes staring widely and wildly at the chuckling old man.

“I told you I wasn’t dating,” Ohno replied, before pushing him into the yacht’s lounging room. “Now you stay here while I steer us away from the harbor, _ne_?”

For a moment Nino just stood where the older guy left him, thinking back on the weeks he had watched him walk out of the greenroom after work, trying to trump down suspicions of him going off to see someone else. He remembered all those times Ohno had refused to treat him to a drink, or the long overdue dinner they never went to...

This was what the old man was doing all along. Preparing for this moment. Doing all of these things... _for him_.

“Satoshi...” he mumbled as his lips began to crack a smile, even as his eyes were slowly becoming heavier with impending tears. But then, he just had to feel the yacht vibrating under his feet, and his senses immediately went haywire.

He stumbled towards the bed at the far side of the room, barely making it as the first wave of nausea washed over him. He plunged face down into the sheets, groaning, vaguely feeling thankful he hadn’t eaten anything at all since yesterday so there was practically nothing he could throw up.

He was groaning all throughout the short trip that felt like an agonizing eternity, desperately reminding himself he could not strangle Satoshi Ohno after everything he had done for him. Then the _freaking_ boat suddenly stopped moving, and Nino’s world gradually grew still.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked up, his gaze focusing on a sight that made him catch his breath. He pulled himself up from the sheets to take a closer look, thinking that maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. Still not convinced by sight alone, he reached out and touched one of the masks hanging on the wall above the headboard.

“Kazu...” Ohno called out from the door.

“You kept them,” he muttered under his breath, still too overwhelmed by the sight of every single mask he had drawn on hanging on the wall, labeled with a date and a small caption under it—just like what he did with his cups.

“I like them.” Ohno sat beside him and casually slid his fingers through his. “Are you feeling better now?”

There was still a vague aching inside his head, and he felt like he could still throw up at any second. But as he clasped the other guy’s hand and looked straight into his eyes, all other sensations began to pale against the warmth and delight he was feeling inside.

“Now you know my secret,” Ohno said smiling. “I like you Kazunari. No. _I love you_.”

Nino felt like laughing. And for the first time in a long while, he gave into what he really wanted to do. He laughed and let loose the tears of joy that had been hanging from the corners of his eyes. And when the older guy wrapped his arm around him, he willingly leaned into the warm embrace.

“This feels good, ne,” Ohno whispered while stroking his hair. “Just the two of us out here at sea. I can go fishing for hours, and feel more inspired knowing you’ll be in here. Playing your games, or writing your songs, or whatever it is you like to do on your own.”

He sobbed quietly, loving the sound of his lover’s voice like he had never loved anything else.

“And when you start feeling lonely, you can call out to me,” Ohno went on. “And when I start feeling lonely, I can just come in here and be with you. Because right here, we’ll only have each other. We can only turn to each other. Love each other...”

“ _Maa_ , Leader,” he started to say, his snarky side just itching to steal the moment. “You’ve become talkative. Now, how did that happen?!”

He heard the older guy chortle, “You can’t keep it down, can you, Kazunari?”

Nino pulled himself up from his lover’s chest and looked into his eyes with a mischievous smile, “ _No_.” And without a moment’s notice, he crossed the space between themselves and planted a light kiss on Satoshi Ohno’s lips. He pressed his forehead to his lover’s and closed his eyes, whispering, “ _Arigatou_ , Satoshi,” before kissing him once again.

The yacht rocked a little against the wind, but Nino barely noticed this as his beloved Oh-chan slowly pressed him down to the sheets, the older guy's gentle kisses drowning him in as much passion as could rival the worst seasickness in the world.

Tomorrow, he vowed to start working on putting melody to the words he had been writing on those cups. He’d have to think of a better title than, ‘Baka, Oh-chan’, though.

#


End file.
